


Celica wants a confession. Otherwise? No dice.

by Warkster



Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem 外伝 | Fire Emblem Gaiden
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Basically just tagged the main characters, Bawdy, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Gallows Humor, Gen, Inappropriate Humor, Inspired by Music, M/M, Modern Era, Multi, Python will be inappropriate, Saber is a total momfriend
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-03-27 12:39:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19013086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Warkster/pseuds/Warkster
Summary: An AU setting where things can get kooky, a choice few times grim but it's mostly going to remain a light-hearted fare (or will it?). Mainly centered around Alm, Anthiese and their "starting" crews. To help things along:1. Most characters have last names. Most of them are either referencing their voice actors or wordplays/corruptions of said VA's names.2. Aside from Delthea, Genny and Kliff, everyone starts the story one year younger than in the game.





	1. Prologue / Chapter 1: An introduction to Zofia Academy.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little background before the main meat of the story. Most of the main characters are mentioned here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Narrated by a certain ginger stud, though it can also be read as his notes on a journal he wrote.

**1\. The Freshmen, they’re restless.**  
  
Zofia Academy: A learning institution which shapes students from preschool all the way to university. With its main campus located where the previous Zofia Castle once stood, admission partway through the school system is possible, and both the Middle and High School sections boast some of the highest standards for both their courses and standardized tests currently available.  
  
During the time period where Zofia struggled with opening her borders, a lot of private institutes started popping up here and there. As a result, the Kingdom of Zofia --which feared that Jugdrali, Archanean, not to mention Rigelian influence may eventually eclipse that of the teachings provided by Mother Mila-- founded the school to counter those who had diverse studies inculcated by said academic institutions.  
  
Later, after merging with some of those aforementioned schools, it gained prominence. Thanks to this raise in profile, the school was offered a Kingdom Script. The families of nobles from different lineages along with merchants all desired to secure their children entry for the academy, which prompted the school's admission to become a status symbol. In great part to this, bribery and corruption became commonplace, both of which still unfortunately plague the school to this day.  
  
After the Valentian Agreement came into place which secured peace between the neighboring Rigel and its namesake country, applications from commoners to Zofia Academy began slowly but surely to rise, and the school instituted a general admissions policy as a result. Many methods to weed out students still remain, though, such as admittedly high tuition fees, expected donations, and the aforementioned bribery, and while securing a scholarship through the special quotas agreed by the schools to maintain an appearance of fairness is possible, the academy's draconian standards have made the obtainment of said placement incredibly difficult.  
  
Because of the preferential treatment that nobles and the wealthy have received during its centuries old existence, scandals have threatened with obliterating the academy's all-too important reputation, and yet despite protests from scholars and intellectuals alike, the academy itself has remained a source of national pride.  
  
Within the academy, the hierarchy of students that have attended the school either all their lives or starting from Elementary denominate themselves the "main family", while those who entered partway are denominated the "branch family". Recently however, and thanks to the plans put in motion by its new headmaster, an outreach program resulted in several students from unusual backgrounds either returning to the academy's fold or becoming recipients of full scholarships.  
  
The first group is notable for being composed of a member of the Lindenbaum Family and subject number one of this story, Anthiese, along with her valets, Mae Reiss and Boey Hackney. Absent from the school for much of her childhood, headmaster Clive Jorgensen has invited the heiress back into the school fold as a tip of the hat of sorts to her family’s storied relationship with Zofia’s transition from a monarchy to a nation. While reluctant to rejoin the ranks of the Academy after such a long time of remaining in exile from even her own family, Anthiese Lindenbaum accepted the invitation on two conditions. Not much is known of said conditions, since secrecy was of the essence at any and all times while the hatching stages of this plot were going on, but it is widely accepted that one of the requirements was for both her valets, along with her schoolmate in the Novis Monastery School, celebrated writer Genny Lenz, to be invited into Zofia Academy’s High School section.  
  
The second group, however, is no less peculiar, given that all members from it are protégés of Former General Mycen Stone. Last year, the first two students were Gray Mittleman, recipient of the full sports scholarship due to his unmatched prowess as a gridiron-style footballer, and Faye O'Connor, who was awarded the notoriously picky historic major scholarship. Constantly preyed upon by the main family's attempts to chase them out, both students have nonetheless thrived, even if Miss O'Connor's failed bid to become part of the student council and the slight but unfortunate reputation it had earned her was noted to be something of a tradition among the main family of students to deny branch students the influence that one of the most prestigious institutions the academy offers.  
  
Among the seven notable freshmen from this year’s crop, three brand-new scholarship students have come to the fore: First it was Tobin Draymond, ace of countless archery competitions and the strongest candidate to represent Zofia in the upcoming Altean Games; next, it was Kliff Oswalt, an accomplished mathlete who had brought home countless trophies and had managed to skip a grade to become a middle school graduate at around the same time as the other two. While those mentioned before will have a profound impact through the academy's history thanks to their earned accolades, none would be so more involved with the change of perception towards the Student Body than Former General Stone's own grandson. Ever since it was instated, Zofia Academy's High School section never had that many branch members become part of the Student Council to count among its ranks before the present day. And since only a select few members of the so-called branch family have become members of the student council, of those only two had attained the position of Student Council President.  
  
One of those two, and the last of those students to be recruited by yours truly, is Alm Flowers, subject number two of this story’s narrative.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of the narration took into account the talents offered by both of Lukas' voice actors. Having played both the Japanese and Western release now, I can say without a doubt that the work the people in charge of the dub put forward was **terrific**. Feel free to leave your comments,reviews, opinions and what have you.


	2. Should the student council members have after-school activities?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so the main meat of the story starts, with the introduction to everyone's ~~crazy~~ adorable cat boy and girl. For the most part, both Alm and Anthiese | Celica are going to remain with the same personalities that they had in the game, just with a couple of distinct character traits that are often implied from the base conversations you get from the game but are never elaborated upon because... well, I don't write or localize games. Yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is technically Chapter 1, but whatever: Let's roll with the punches. Introduction narrated by a certain snake-like archer.

Zofia Academy –also occasionally referred to as Central Zofia, to help differentiate itself from the fancy-pants Zofia Academy for the Performing Arts located in the Novis Archipelago—An incredibly prestigious academy with a centuries-long history of providing the country with able leaders on most fields, a history that endures to this day in no small part due to the efforts taken by its respected headmasters…  
  
… or so we would like to say, but after the previous shithead in charge— meaning Desaix, of course— was dishonorably dismissed in light of his less than stellar track record coming to the surface, it’s been probably justified to call into question just how much of the academy’s good graces were a front as of recent times. Hey makes sense, if you ask me. Nevertheless, current headmaster Jorgensen (who’s waaaaay less of a shithead, even if he’s stubborn as a mule, thankyouverymuch) has made strides in correcting course. One of his first uses of the prerogative as head of this institution was to actively pursue talented candidates qualified for the scholarship programs offered to ten students per year.  
  
The second use, though, proved a bit trickier (ain’t that always the case?): In order to secure a potential returning student, he had to enlist the aid from said potential returnee’s closest friends. Man, I could totally go for the whole shebang on this little ditty. Hey Forsyth, d’you think Lukas has the scoop on it? Anyway, during the start of his third year as headmaster—oh joy— there were seven particular rugr—er, students that had become the center of attention for the Academy’s High School section. Of those, this story will proceed to fastidiously concern itself with the two that stood out the most and how their romance blossomed… and because they’re both as dense as a sack of bricks, hopefully it’ll be funny.  
  
Enjoy. Or don’t! Makes no real difference to me. I’m getting paid either way! Can we get some damn service in this cafeteria already? Can’t grade papers worth squat on an empty stomach, y’know?

* * *

  
**2\. Let’s talk briefly about Anthiese Lindenbaum**  
  
“Good day, Ms. Lindenbaum!” A second year greeted Anthiese through her afternoon walk to the Student Council quarters.  
  
“Good day to you, as well” she answered with nary a delay in her timing, all while offering the slightest of nods to the student who previously greeted her.  
  
Anthiese Lindenbaum: While for most of her adolescence she remained in exile from the main Lindenbaum family, her academic success could not shine brighter if attempted. Even as the youngest of Dolph Lindenbaum’s six children, Anthiese was expected to prove her mettle before society. And prove her mettle she did, having done so with superb results in matters of literature, music, self-defense and countless other subjects. Anthiese Lindenbaum, truly a gifted young lady.  
  
Belying his naturally playful self, the young man walking at her left could not paint a starkest contrast to the heiress if he tried. Carrying a stack of books that partly masked his visage, the earnest, newly-minted Student Council President was not much for forced displays of gracefulness. Due to the order in which he arranged the tower of them, the tomes occasionally flailed around, resembling something akin to an intoxicated dancer. It was only natural that, after so long, a couple of them would find their way down from the makeshift tower perpetrated by this young man.  
  
“Agh!” He let out a groan of annoyance at the multiple sounds of books hitting the ground. Perhaps not the most refined of gestures, but if he wished to voice his dissatisfaction with the current scenario, this accomplished its job with flying colors. Following his down-to-earth expression of disapproval with the result of his failed literary babel, he began to scan the ground using his right foot. Such a display caused the onlooking students to let out a hearty chuckle at his expense. Not that he really minded (he minded a little). Suddenly feeling a hand right next to his foot, the President peered to his left to find a fellow classmate grabbing the books.  
  
“Sorry about that, McClelland. Would you terribly mind passing those books to the Vice-President?”  
  
“No, not at all, Pres” The young woman replied almost immediately, before handling the books to Vice-President Lindenbaum. After Anthiese offered her a grateful nod, Siobhan McClelland quickly retired from the pair’s path towards the Student Council room, allowing them to continue their route uninterrupted.  
  
“By Mila, she’s so beautiful” One female student acknowledged. “And despite his somewhat doofus side, the President is surprisingly cute as well” A fellow student acknowledged of the boy juggling with dancing literature on his way to their quarters.  
  
Despite pretending otherwise, both heads of the Student Council could hear the gossipy whispers going behind them just fine.

* * *

  
**3\. Alm Flowers is both an idiot and a reprobate (a cute idiot, though).**  
  
Student Council Room.  
  
“By the gods! You’d think they had seen the Prime Minister or something with all the hemming, hawing and gossip going on back there”. The president vented while slowly placing the books in various places around his desk. Anthiese couldn’t help but to wonder, though: Was he breaking them down in categories? Personal favorites? Topics to get caught up on?  
  
“President, please mind your language” Anthiese’s retort was both stern as it was quick. “Even if it’s mostly limited to this academy, we are public figures after all, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, so try to carry yourself with some semblance of dignity, if you please” She carried on while inspecting one of the books on top of the stack as the president offered a nod as a way of apology.  
  
The book’s title was ‘36 Ways to convince your opponent he’s truly well-cooked’. Anthiese chuckled ever so slightly at the book’s name. As she quickly discovered, she had gained the undivided attention of the President without meaning to. The combination of his grin, his green eyes and how he cupped his cheeks to stare at her could only be described in one word and one word only.  
  
Adorable. Many people would prefer to go with goofy, but she could not get enough of it. As of right now, though, she could feel the temperature in her face elevate, and could only guess that her face was comparable in color to her hair. “Would… would you mind not staring at me in that way?” She tried her best to sound imposing, but the tone of her voice betrayed her by all accounts, so she used the tome she had just picked to partially cover her face.  
  
“Thanks for the pick-me-up, Ms. Lindenbaum!” The president said shortly before unleashing a follow-up devastating grin upon his unsuspecting associate.  
  
“What… whatever do you mean by that, President?” Anthiese replied, while redirecting her glance elsewhere, all to secure her survival to today’s onslaught of cuteness.  
  
“Well, thanks to the headmaster being a giant pain in the—uh, neck” Flowers wisely caught up with himself this time. He knew that he needed to mind his language in front of the Vice-President, given her more traditional education. “I’ve been cracking my skull open trying to memorize everything that needs to go into being a good Student Council President for this here school”.  
  
“And… can I level with you, Ms. Lindenbaum?” Alm put one more of the books down as he said that, his brow slightly furrowed. “Sometimes I kind of have second thoughts here about the possibility of not measuring up to the task” Anthiese tilted her head slightly towards her right shoulder as she threw a bemused stare his way.  
  
If she could sum up her current opinion of the President, is that he’s ever so slightly disappointed her through said declaration.  
  
The president pinched the bridge of his nose before letting out a small sigh. “Part of my bone to pick with it is that it felt like little more than a popularity contest. Still sort of feels that way—I mean, I’ve been a student here, what, 3 weeks now? And to all of a sudden find myself thrust into this spotlight? Don’t you think it’s weird?” He resumed his book sorting while following on his thoughts. “I’m not going to quit, though. Don’t want to let my partner down” He added, while offering a little wink as a visual punctuation of sorts, which managed to sweeten up the Vice-President enough to elicit an additional smile. And just like that, her opinion of him shot ever higher. A reliable young man all things considered.  
  
“Makes sense that you feel that way, especially given that this is probably the first time such a weight has been placed on your shoulders” So far, Anthiese had acted as the spokesperson for the Student Council these past two weeks. “So please make sure you are ready to tackle this responsibility head-on as soon as possible” She added, while reaching for the teapot, hoping some of the Earl Diamond still remained from the one she brewed for the adjourned council meeting from this morning.  
  
“Yeah, it’s a can of worms waiting to get cracked open, for certain” Anthiese let out yet another small chuckle at hearing that expression leave President Flowers’ mouth. “Oh! I think that’s the first time I haven’t seen you do that hand-covering gesture you often do, Vice-Pres” Despite her best efforts, the Vice-President often had to engage in mental gymnastics to remain on top of herself, especially given the attention provided by her student council partner.  
  
“By all means, show the world your smile, Ms. Lindenbaum. Truly the gift that keeps on giving steady returns” for the vice-president, said comments had a certain novelty. It’s not as if she had never heard sweet nothings before, of course: People who knew who she was and, more specifically, what her last name was, always tried to pile them up while trying to get themselves into her graces. President Flowers, though, was different. He often mixed up two or more figures of speech, often with the sole purpose of squeezing out some sort of wordplay or, gods willing, a pun. The results often left something to be desired.  
  
The one just now finally sank in, though, and the shame of his truly dreadful wordplay finally started washing all over him.  
  
“Please just pretend I gave you a normal compliment” The president mumbled while burying his face deep in his hands in complete embarrassment.  
  
Anthiese could not help but to first puff her cheeks slightly and then burst into a small fit of most joyous laughter before regaining her composure and playfully pointing at him.  
  
“Never! You will have to make proper amends for that truly harrowing barb, President” Alm’s eyes peeked from between his fingers at her playful rebuttal. In the space of the last two weeks since becoming a member of the Student Council, Anthiese had picked up a couple of habits from having to endure the gauntlet which made up much of the President’s idiosyncratic sense of humor.  
  
“Well, if that’s the case, then…” Alm rubbed his chin, all while staring at the ceiling clearly trying to think of something. “Hmmmmrrrmmmm…” The green-haired youth was yet again actively furrowing his brow, so it seems like this time around, he was actually wracking his brains while trying to come up with a way to make it up to his classmate and fellow council member. What the president’s brain was concocting was privy only to him. Regardless of said process, the results would probably further leave her baffled. It was not an unwelcome occurrence, though, since it made her days all the more interesting.  
  
Since he was still coming up empty, he decided to try and reorganize his thoughts properly by opening the drawers on his desk and seeing if the contents therein could give him an in… before he could finish properly opening the drawer, he noticed a couple of things that weren’t supposed to be there. His right eyebrow slightly raised, this kind of thing took Alm for a loop.  
  
The only people who have a key for this drawer are himself and Principal Chun. Just who had gained access to his desk drawer? Then he noticed what the contents mentioned and his eyes widened: Courtesy movie tickets. And how they could’ve known that he liked the ‘Clueless Princes and the Freeter Dragon Girl’ series of novels so much? These two movie tickets couldn’t be a coincidence. He was stumped.  
  
A few steps away from him, Anthiese narrowed her eyelids while allowing a small, picaresque smile to form in her face as the President kept looking down, unaware of the plot she had concocted.  
  
_Oh Alm, don’t look so shocked._ Anthiese thought while playing with her hair. _It’s the sort of thing that is often commonplace when you want to ensure something comes to happen, right? So what if someone has a trusty person available to them in order to easily gain access to such private places? Shouldn’t one use every resource that’s available to them when it comes to war? Do not think me so naïve, Alm Flowers._  
  
Anthiese couldn’t help but to chuckle when recalling when she gave Mae the go ahead to pick the lock of the President’s desk drawer and place the tickets there. Now that she saw how President Flowers had placed the aforementioned tickets in his uniform jacket’s inner pocket, she could barely contain her excitement at the prospects ahead as she started tapping her fingertips against each other.  
  
Without warning, his stare snapped back while raising his left index. Anthiese reverted back to the friendly, yet assuring demeanor she often displayed while around the President.  
  
“Say, do you have any plans for th—”  
  
“SALUTATIONS!” The doors of the student council were opened at full force, accompanied with said cheerful greeting. While only a word was uttered, it was obvious to all but the most secluded of students that the manner of speech, delivery and infectious pizzazz could only belong to one person.  
  
“Tsk!” Anthiese clicked her teeth at hearing that same entrance. While not completely foiled, her plan would have to be put on hold for now.

* * *

  
**4\. Who are the Jorgensen Siblings?**  
  
“Oh, salutations Miss Jorgensen” Anthiese greeted the Student Council’s very own secretary. A lot of things in her everyday life had taken a turn for the strange, and a sizable amount of those came down to one emerald-eyed person in particular, but the secretary’s presence proved to be an anchoring presence… most of the time, at any rate.  
  
“Ah, Miss Clair” The President did his best to hold in his snickering. It would perhaps reflect poorly on him to point it out as such, but Miss Clair Jorgensen’s old-fashioned manner of speech was a little too much for him to handle at times.  
  
“What is it, President? Is something I have said today objectionable in any way, shape or form?” Her straight-laced tone just now made him feel a bit taken aback. “To what do we owe such an immature display? As someone who is now an esteemed representative of the student body, please remain mindful of your behavior, for your display just now was beyond boorish!” Clair added, clearly displeased with having been made an apparent mockery of. This gave the president pause… but after exchanging a short glance with Anthiese, he then immediately proceeded to take a deep breath while offering a small nod towards the Student Council Secretary.  
  
“Sorry, sorry. Very much not my intent, Miss Clair, I’m sorry. I’m simply unaccustomed to your manner of speech, even after having interacted with you in a day-to-day basis these past weeks. I do not, however, find anything objectionable about it” Alm stood up, while closing the book he had in hand and depositing it within his desk drawer. He cleared his throat before further elaborating. “Matter of fact, I like the way you talk, Secretary” He added, while running his hand through his hair. “It feels like you’re dancing with the words themselves when you speak, and I think that’s very cool”  
  
“I… is that so?” Suddenly, Clair Jorgensen couldn’t find her verbal footing and was for once glad to not see with the president face-to-face, otherwise, he would probably make fun of her face being a tangled-up ensemble of diverse degrees of embarrassment. Also of interest is that she avoided noticing Vice-President Lindenbaum’s less than friendly glare directed at her from the other side of the room.  
  
Then, a very loud guitar and drum combo noise started going off. Both Anthiese and Clair recognized the sound immediately… “G’ah! Sorry, forgot to put this thing on mute” The president lamented as his cellphone’s ringtone made its presence known to everyone in the vicinity. The ladies of the student council were less than surprised, though, since they’ve grown acquainted with this scenario as the president gets a lot of phone calls from several people once school is done for the day. His choice of ringtones is always telling as to whom was calling him at any given time. And the electric guitar, driving percussion, along with the free-wheeling harmonica, could only indicate the possibility of two people on the other end of the line.  
  
“Hello there? Gray, is that you?” Flowers couldn’t quite hear well, since there was quite a ruckus going on in the background from the other side of the line. “Oh? What?” He seemed genuinely bemused at whoever was speaking to him, when secretary Jorgensen tried to approach him, Flowers made a hand-gesture indicating that he needed a little time out.  
  
“OK... I see… Hmm… oh!” Alm cringed for a spell. “Yikes. Uh, alright, I’m on my way. Thank you for this piece of information, Miss Jenny” His succinct responses left the other two young women intrigued as to what had transpired. “Ms. Lindenbaum, care to accompany me on this? I just got a call from my friend’s cellphone, but the person on the other side claimed her name as… Jenny, I believe? Saying she’s a friend of yours. Something about our friends getting into a scuffle with a third party who, and I quote, ‘wanted to start some… uh, expletive deleted with them’ for no rhyme or reason.” Alm smiled awkwardly when realizing the less than clever swap he had committed just a few seconds ago.  
  
“Right! Let us go, then” Anthiese grabbed the council small notebook and her cellphone just in case.  
  
“Miss Clair, if anybody comes or calls—”  
  
“I will make proper annotations, President Flowers” Before Alm could continue, Clair had more or less taken up his number, to which he replied with a thumbs up and a wink.  
  
_Nice catch there, Flowers. Hopefully you can keep this propriety momentum train going_ Alm thought while offering a small fist pump for himself as both Anthiese and he departed from the Room.  
  
Clair smiled to herself once the two freshmen left. _Ah, President Flowers, you must simply stop being so inconsiderate._ She thought, while quickly bringing her left index and middle fingertips on top of her lips.  
  
A few seconds after both Alm and Anthiese had left the room, the Student Council phone rang in the background, and before it could ring for a third time, Clair had already prepared pen and paper to take notes.  
  
“Hello, dear brother. To what do we owe the honor on this Friday afternoon?” Clair’s tone had become slightly more lax now that she was talking to her older brother and headmaster of Zofia Academy.  
  
“Well, truth be told, I wanted to speak with the young Student Council President, but given that I’m currently speaking with you instead, I’ll hazard a guess and proclaim that he’s currently absent once more”  
  
“A sharp deduction, even if the tone in your voice betrays your intent” She readied her pen. “Any chores that need to be tended from the desk of the headmaster, at this moment?”  
  
“Ah, not particularly. If I’m being honest, Principal Chun informed me that yet more talent scouts had been spotted at the general gate, asking details regarding one or more of Mycen’s protégés. Of particular note was their interest in Gray Mittleman” Regardless of the importance, the youngest Jorgensen sibling decided to apply aplomb and wrote down the information she felt necessary to communicate later on to both her immediate superiors within the Student Council.  
  
“Oh my, so your designs to make the status of this Academy soar are paying dividends. It hardly seems like the same Clive Tiberius Jorgensen that once embarked in a campaign to win the affections of his now bride-to-be”  
  
At hearing that name, the headmaster groaned. “I had, for a few days now, almost forgotten what my full name was, Clair” The deadpan tone Clive employed just now could cut through any surface. “Thanks for the reminder”  
  
Clair giggled at him. “And why would I avoid using it? It is your full name, after all” Clive Jorgensen sighed at hearing that statement.  
  
“You know, now I understand why Alm decided to keep you around as part of his student council”  
  
At that, Clair left out a sensible chuckle. “Enjoy your weekend, brother” And then promptly hung up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, most characters have last names that are either directly lifted from their VA's, from the story itself or are wordplay/corruptions of the former two (Alm, whose Japanese VA goes by the name Natsuki **Hana** e, is called Alm Flowers, Clive's American VA is Grant George, so I went for Jorgensen, and since Clair is his sister, she has it too, etc). I know, I know. orz
> 
> The ringtone is definitely not an ersatz version of this [little ditty](https://youtu.be/01SwapBSUL4). No sir.
> 
> I'm hoping to have a new chapter at the very least every two weeks, if you don't terribly mind. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback and such if you so fancy to do so.


	3. The Ram City Crew & the Novis Priory Squad (1 of 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A direct continuation of Chapter 2, basically taking place starting from the phone call Alm receives in the previous chapter. Introduction is narrated by our ever curious boy, Kliff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As with the previous chapter, there are some named minor (original) characters. In the previous chapter, it was Siobhan McClelland, who sits on the same class with Alm and Anthiese. On this chapter, we introduce Gray's teammates within the football team, Jonathan Dorian (a sophomore, as Gray) and Gabriel McManus (a freshman), along with two other one-shot characters. While some of them will continue to be mentioned, they will be mostly inconsequential to the plot. I just wanted to name them for the sake of simplicity. That being said, enjoy!

Ram City: A sleepy human settlement whose only significant contribution of interest for the longest time was its wine export. While technically speaking its classification should be that of a designated town due to its relatively low population in comparison to bigger cities that spawned around it, it has managed to keep the name going for almost a hundred years now. For a period of time, though, it unfortunately had fallen victim to high rates of crime.  
  
At some point during that less than stable period of time, an older gentleman by the name of Mycen Stone moved to one of the houses in front of the downtown Alameda. With him, he brought along his infant grandson, Alm Flowers. After an attempted mugging that ended with Mr. Stone nearly beating a man to death, he opted to follow the advice from one Mrs. O’Connor and moved to the Ram Heights neighborhood. Before long, both he and his grandson had forged a strong bond with 4 particular families. Alm in particular bonded quite well with these families, since aside from his grandfather, he never truly had any relatives to properly call his own.  
  
In any other story, I’d say this is the part where happy memories were made, with Alm and the other kids enjoying a childhood free of worries; alas, I’m afraid life seldom works that way, even with your best laid plans: Mycen was not your average grandfather/paternal figure, so perhaps a normal childhood was never truly in the cards for our lot. In all honesty, though? I don’t think it was all that terrible, even with all the hardships, the tears and… y'know, the overall destruction of our normal lives.

  
Oh, that’s right! This is our story, too. Figured you may want a heads up!

* * *

 

**5\. Gray Mittleman is a lover. Don’t fight him about this.**  
  
Given the number of students currently attending its main campus lie somewhere in the vicinity of 8,000, which includes students for Middle School and High School sections, along with 6 of its 15 College Faculties, the neighborhoods surrounding Zofia Academy’s main campus have become a tight-knit community, with a culture that’s both inclusive and unlike few others found around the world. Even among the most notoriously elitist of the main families, usage of the subway and other means of public transportation is encouraged; with a subway station a cool 2-minute walk from the front gate and 5 bus stops deftly located nearby of both the school gates, private vehicle usage has never been a significant factor in this area of the Zofian capital.  
  
 _‘You don’t dress like a target, man. C’mon! ’_   A youth thought about the situation happening a few meters away from him: A couple of kids from his school were getting harassed by what looked like college seniors just outside the Arboretum convenience store. Since the passersby had started to steer clear, it seemed inevitable for things to go down.  
  
“Yo’ Cap’n, what’s the scoop?” A pat on the back followed by that greeting pulled him back into reality.  
  
“Bwuh? Oh! Hey there, McManus. Dorian” It seemed like his thoughts were still pushing him to act, but he didn’t know if it was the right idea. So when Gabe snapped him out of it, Gray was secretly grateful. “Well, it looks like a couple of seniors from the college side are giving the wee ones some tough love”  
  
“Oh jeez, I hate it when they do that crap” Dorian groaned in annoyance at seeing that scene play out.  
  
“Then again, a few of the main family guys on our team do shit like that” Gabe spoke with a certain disdain when referring to his senior teammates.  
  
“Yup, but they seem less insufferable than these fellows” The high school football team captain tapped both Gabriel McManus and Jonathan Dorian on their shoulders. “C’mon. Let’s go and see if we can defuse this situation” He added, as though he needed to give a certain sing-song flair to his speech.  
  
“Uuuuuhhh I don’t know Cap’n, you think that’s a good idea?” In the short few weeks since he started, Gabriel McManus had proven to be the most level-headed of the freshmen, even when the situation allowed for wiggle room. In truth, Gray appreciated that, since most of the team were often less… willing to play the long game with him, to sum it up politely. It’s this very reason that he had made the team on last week’s game, even if some of the team regulars called him out on what seemed like preferential treatment.  
  
“Well, it doesn’t look like it’s gonna solve itself peacefully, so might as well” Gray tried to assuage Gabriel’s concerns with an easygoing tone.  
  
“Ack, I hate talking to the college guys. They all puff their chest at you and talk you down and what have you. It’s probably because they don’t have to wear these lame-ass uniforms” Jonathan seemed less convinced of their chances. Always the loud, skeptic voice, Jonathan Dorian often got into trouble early on during his first-year stint since he seldom seemed uncomfortable at voicing his opinions, which mostly earned him some hazing from the seniors. It wasn’t until Gray was picked as official captain of the team that he was able to consistently play consecutive games.  
  
“To be fair, that’s mostly just the football team, and that’s only when they think Coach Valbar ain’t around to smack them upside the head”  
  
“Pfft!” McManus snorted after that spit-take. “Ha ha ha! Yeah, that never gets old!” He added, while using the back of his hand to wipe his mouth.  
  
“OK, here we go. Let’s put on our A-game for this, a’ight?” Gray had put his Captain hat on.  
  
“Sure!”  
  
“Roger!” They both answered in unison.  
  
  
When approaching the group, he noticed two familiar faces. Immediately, Gray came up with a plan on the fly.   
  
_‘Here’s hoping this pays off!’_ Mittleman thought while picking up on what he’d say next.  
  
“Oh-ho there, if it ain’t two of my favorite freshmen: Sister Reiss and Padre Hackney” He had to admit that he felt stupid not recognizing Mae and Boey’s unmistakable hairdos right away, but then again, since the two guys giving them guff kinda blocked his field of vision, it wasn’t like he was doing it on purpose.  
  
“Oh! Captain Mittleman! What’s up?” Even when she at first seemed really mad, Mae’s frown disappeared almost immediately upon seeing Captain Mittleman.  
  
“Gimme some” Gray raised his hand and the Pink-haired sister in training immediately went for a high-five; not long after, he then fist-bumped with the white-haired man of the cloth. “Oh, y’know: Just running into you kids while we’re going to get our lunch on. Do we interrupt anything? If not, do you guys want to join us and grab a bite? McManus will pick up the tab” This additional bit of data was completely ad-libbed, but he was hoping that Gabriel would play along and act his part.  
  
“Oi—“It seemed like one of the guys he didn’t recognize didn’t love the idea.  
  
“Whoa, really?” The pink-haired student interrupted any further dialogue with the unknown duo, since she seemed eager to take Gray and his friends up on their offer. “Well, don’t mind if I do!” She added, in a tone that didn’t leave anything to the imagination.  
  
“Hey wait!” Gabriel protested.  
  
“How ‘bout you, Hackney?” Gray seemingly didn’t care about his junior’s protests.  
  
“Listen, you—“ And now it was the bigger guy’s turn to try and make himself known.  
  
“Ah sure, I’m good to go!” A little bit more hesitant in his mannerisms, but Boey agreed to accompany them all the same.  
  
“Can I have a say in this?” McManus asked, sounding somewhat more resigned about the prospect of paying for everyone’s lunch.  
  
“Ah c’mon, Gabriel, be a pal. We know you loaded” Gray Mittleman had played his cards right and it’d be smooth sailing from here, even if he gave the appearance of mooching off his freshman teammate.  
  
“Argh! Not fair, Cap’n!” Gabriel threw his hands up in resignation, with Jonathan chuckling behind them.  
  
Gray turned around to look at them and offered a wink in appreciation to his teammates. “Heh, don’t you worry; I’ll make it up t—”  
  
“Hey, who the fuck is you guys?” The taller of the two guys suddenly interrupted Gray.  
  
“Ah, come again now?” Gray didn’t seem to see it coming.  
  
“Oh, playing dumb now, aren’t we? I asked. WHO. THE FUCK. ARE YOU?”  
  
“Dude, say it don’t spray it” Gray cringed at having the more hostile of the two guys basically spit on him. “Now that I take a good look at you both… you guys aren’t from our school, are you?” He questioned them in a mockingly-inquisitive tone, hopefully to try and get this resolved without any need of hostility.  
  
“So? The hell does it matter if I go to your school or not?” The one eyeing him at his height just gave him one hell of a stink-eye when he asked.  
  
_‘Well, no real surprises there. Gonna be a tough room, it seems’_ Gray knew this type of person well. He had gone with them to middle school back in old Ram City. He tried to play it off like he was just chilling, but the tapping of his nose’s bridge owed more to a form of concentrating into a single objective than just being seen as a dismissive, apathetic gesture.  
  
_‘Ram City had tons of these nitwits running wild during the height of Avistym’_ His ideas were leaving him to die on a really uncool hill right about now; he needed to come up with something, but instead his thoughts were just meandering. _‘You’d think they would’ve cooled down now that Pegastym is here. That ought to show me to be more conservative in my estimates for douchebags’_  


Suddenly, Gray had this realization hit him. If you can’t beat them…  


“Come on; let’s take it easy now, fellas. Nobody’s accusing anybody else from anything here. Let’s just be cool and we’ll be best bros for life. Matter fact, why don’t you join us in our delectable luncheon? I’m sure we’ll have a blast!”  
  
The guys seemed confused for a moment. Gray saw an opening and felt like he could press on further…  
  
“Uh, I don’t know, Captain. I mean, these two guys just spent the better part of the last five minutes trying to hit on me and dissing Boey. Not sure how comfortable we’d be in closer quarters with them, to be quite honest” … and just as succinctly, Mae shot down that plan mercilessly. Now he sorta understood what was happening better, though, so he could work from that point on and come up with a new plan.  
  
“A’ight. Well sorry about that, forget I mentioned it. So…” Gray placed his left hand on the shorter guy’s shoulder. “… just kinda throwing it out there, how about we make plans for some other time? Whaddya guys think?”  
  
The tougher-looking of the two seemed vexed. “Are you hitting on me? Because if that’s the case, sorry: I don’t do guys” The shorter one seemed a bit quicker on the uptake. Emphasis on seemed, because if Gray Mittleman could roll his eyes any quicker, they’d surely pop out of its respective sockets.  
  
“Ha! Sorry! You’re both waaay too butch for my tastes, fellas”  


”Oh, get bent!”  
  
_‘Aaaaannnd now they’re acting offended. Great’_  
  
“Listen, I’m not wanting for much” Scrawnier guy took on the floor. Gray had apparently made some strides, here.  
  
“I was gonna say that you seem like quite the reasonable, down to earth sort, for sure!” He knew it was time to lay it on thick, if that was the case.  
  
“Right? So, hear me out: I just want to take pinky over here away from her whipping boy-toy and pound her ass senseless”  
  
“Oh come on, dude!” At that moment, Gray got pissed. Had they been inside school grounds, his approach would’ve gotten uglier way sooner. He needed to be the extra cooler head here, even if said prospect was looking less and less likely by the second.

 

“EXCUSE ME?” Mae, understandably, got incredibly ticked off to hear the guy express the desire to have his way with her in so blatant a manner.

 

“Hey! Watch your mouth!” Boey seemed almost as offended.

 

Gabe and Jon appeared to be puzzled as well, when they looked at each other and mouthed a ‘What the fuck?’ in silent unison.

  
“At what point did I show any iota of interest in going with you, huh? And what sort of carcass crawled up your butt to make you think that saying _that_ would make a good argument?” Gray sighed at hearing Mae, not because he disagreed with her. Duma knows he’d like to be as fierce and open in his everyday life as Sister Reiss. It was one of the reasons he liked hanging out with the Novis Priory crew. Both she and Boey also had one of the cutest ways to argue with each other, which oddly reminded him of two of his boyhood pals and neighbors.  
  
However, if this conversation didn’t stray its course for safer waters, they were in for further complications. “Gimme a minute, Reiss” He placed both hands on Mae’s shoulders to try and calm her down, even if it was just a little. The reason he’s slightly closer with Mae than anyone else from her clique is that she had been at the prefect’s office at least twice for stopping scuffles outside of school. “I know it sounds stupid but, just… let me try one last time”  
  
“Alright, Captain. I trust you here. Mila knows I’m not in a forgiving mood right now” Boey mouthed off a ‘thank you’ to Gray from behind her. He offered a wink to both of his cute underclassmen no problem.  
  
“Look, I… sort of get it? Like, I get it, hitting on someone you fancy is hard and all. But that was still godawful” He’ll have to get that earful from Mae tomorrow, but he needed to get that wiggle room.  
  
“OH, now I get it!” The guy’s clapping as he took a pause got on his nerves fast. “You’re trying to be the white knight here! Never took it that _you_ people would do such a thing. Then again, the other guy over there seems more like a whitey in all but name”  
  
And that finally got Gray good. While he was already in a sour mood after finding out what these guys wanted to do with Sister Reiss, the fact that they were so casual in their racism got him there. Finally, an excuse to let loose and let them have it… or so he’d like to say, but he knew better. He’s not just a run-of-the-mill student here, he’s the captain of the football team, and that gets heads turning. So, if he stepped out of line, even if it was for a reason 100% justified, and even if he knew that either Coach Forsyth or Coach Valbar would go to the mat for him, it’d be hard to recover from this.  
  
However, Gray was flying on auto-pilot. And when he’s like that, Gray gives very little thought to his responses.  
  
“Well, clearly, I had your number wrong here, huh? But that’s my mistake, not yours, and I’m not gonna blame you for that. Nope, no sir” Gray saw the guys’ expression change almost immediately when they heard him. The fact that he had the most plastic of smiles drilled into his face probably sealed the deal better. “Not only did you sound like a giant douchenozzle just now, now I’m sold that’s just who you are, right? So, why dontcha cut your losses for the day and… y’know, fuck off?”

  
In a little over a second, the guy had shoved Gray against the convenience store’s wall and held his forearm against his throat.  
  
“Captain Mittleman no!” Mae’s concern was commendable, but perhaps misplaced.  


“The hell are you talking about, you little dipshit?” Tall, bulky guy wasn’t having any of Gray’s lip, and he demonstrated with excessive force.  
  
“Oh boy” Mittleman barely seemed phased out by this. It was at that moment that he saw a girl from the convenience store come out wearing the Zofia Academy uniform. That helped him calm down, even if just barely.

* * *

  
**6\. Zofia has a Godslayer, and she’s in love.**

  
“Well lookie there, if it ain’t my favorite writer! Say Genny, are you here with Reiss and Hackney?”  
  
“Hello, Captain Mittleman. Indeed I am” Genny Lenz was a calming presence, so he reached out for that excuse to remain calm. Break out the cool bro tone his older sisters taught him once more.  
  
“Uh, but you seem to have far more pressing issues at hand right now. Should… should we even be talking like this given the circumstances, Captain?” He knew that, among the Novis crew, she was always the quietest one, but he dug that about her. While he normally doesn’t mind louder people, having a shy acquaintance who just wants to chill is always welcome.  
  
“What, this right now? Don’t you worr—” He searched his pockets as he talked with Genny, before the guy currently holding him back against the wall smacked him across the face. Both Genny and Mae gasped after witnessing that.  
  
“Hey, shut the fuck up. You, tiny: Get the hell out of here”  
  
“Wow, no manners at all!” Genny pouted as she said that.  
  
“You’re… kinda missing the point here, Genny” Boey moved to intervene, before he noticed Gray holding a hand up to stop him from doing so.  
  
“Oh! Uh… are you ok, Captain?” Genny noticed that he was trying to reach for something in his pockets.  
  
“Sure, just a little banged up, but barely any worse for wear. Oh!” Gray’s finally had gotten a hold of his phone. “There you are” He added as he pulled it out of his back pocket. For a second, his assailant tried to grab his phone before he effortlessly got it out of his range by handling it over to the young fiction writer to his left. He had it already unlocked when he handed it to her.  
  
“Genny, will you do me a solid and call my buddy Alm to perhaps get his overworked butt over here? You know, pronto if possible?”  
  
“Sure!”  
  
“Hey, gimme that!” During the shorter guy’s attempt at grabbing Genny, Boey seized the opportunity to quickly jump on his back to stop him. “You little…!” Which was clearly not all that appreciated by the recipient of the young Hackney’s attack.  
  
“Genny! Go!” Boey had him temporarily distracted by covering his eyes with his right arm and holding him in an impromptu vice grip.  
  
“Ah, yes!” Genny hoped that the call connected as soon as possible.  
  
“Oh, hello? Is this Alm Flowers? I— uh no, my name is Genny! I’m friends with Vice-Pres Anthiese! We met when you recruited her! We’re currently having some problems with a couple of students from another school that—”  
  
Genny barely managed to dodge when they guy currently blinded by Boey randomly made a swing at her. “HEY! You’re very rude!” She yelled at the guy, but at hearing the Student Council President’s confused tone, she realized that both focus and time were of the essence. “They started some shit with my friends and your friend Gray got involved here in front of the Arboretum convenience store, can you come and help us? Also sorry for saying a bad word! Thank you!” She quickly disconnected the call right after finishing.  
  
“Nnnice one, Genny!” Gray gave her his thumbs up, even as he remains pinned against the wall.  
  
“Uh, Cap’n? Shouldn’t you try defending yourself?”   
  
“Helping or hurting, Gabe? Helping or hurting?”  
  
Gabriel sighed in exasperation. “I swear, Cap—“

  
“Hey, what’s going on?” A question which seemed a bit foolish at the moment, but from an outside context it probably made sense.  
  
_‘Oh, that’s just peachy!’_ Gray thought as he groaned in annoyance. _‘Just what this clown show needed: More spectators!’_  
  
When Gray looked for the source of that inquiry, his right eye narrowed in mild bemusement.  
  
“Tobin? Kliff?”  
  
“Oh! Gray, what’s the word?” His best friend’s casual tone at the current scene spoke volumes of how used he was at being caught in situations such as the current one. Kliff’s nonchalant wave accompanying his smug smirk was just the cherry on top. “Uh, is everything OK?”  
  
“Eh, you know me. Always the good Samaritan” His relaxed side was coming to the forefront once again. These are his life-long buddies, of course he has to keep it together.  
  
”That’s funny. I was going to ask if you tried to overstep your bounds yet again and stuck your nose fully into beeswax in which it clearly didn’t belong in the first place” Toby’s loquacious reply left Gray feeling a bit perplexed.  
  
“Ah… well, you see… I was actually trying to be the cool senior. But, y’know, couldn’t stick the landing and so that idea got kicked in the head” Gray genuinely sounded a bit dejected.  
  
“Ah, well that certainly sounds more like the Gray we grew up with”  
  
“Oh, great! Thank you for joining the conversation at your own leisured pace, Kliff”  
  
“You know me! Pleasure is all mine!” The wink was just salt in the wound, really.  
  
“Speaking of knowledge, uh, could you do me a solid and step up to take care of these guys, little buddy?” Gray nodded towards the two troublemakers at hand.  
  
“And miss the front seats to your hall of fame-level humiliation? Not in your lifetime”  
  
“Oh, I certainly _cherish_ our friendship so much right now!” Gray’s right eye had started twitching just a little bit there.  
  
“So, ya’ letting pipsqueak here fight your battles for you? Talk about being a chickenshit”  
  
“Hey, ‘twas worth a try, y’know?” Gray let out a half-hearted shrug along with his words.  “Now here’s the deal, when it comes to this type of nonsense, our school is really strict about guidelines and whatnot. A student cannot get into scraps and such outside the school, lest he risks the chance of suspension and/or sullying the school’s name and all that junk, yeah? Here” He added, while showing his student id pocket book, which was opened smack-dab in the middle of the school’s rules for behavior.

  
“Article 6. A student shall not… endure? Ah no, engage into any sort of hostile activities while representing the school, and—” The tall guy paused after seeing how his shorter companion threw Boey off. “That’s your fucking excuse?” The guy swatted Gray’s student pocketbook aside. “Man, talk about pathetic”  
  
“Hey Parker, let’s beat his ass good and cheese it, since it seems like the rest of these clowns ain’t gonna do squat abo—”  
  
“See, you’re clearly misunderstanding something here” Gray thumbed his nose at this Parker fellow, while interrupting his partner. “I don’t need to do anything.” He added, sounding more confident with each word.  
  
At the exclusion of almost anything else, Parker heard the sound of feet hitting the pavement at an alarming speed, and before he could process what was happening as he looked to his side, a green-colored blur appeared before him. Now face to face with him, he saw his emerald eyes and paused for a moment. “Schwha—?”  
  
  
“HIIIYAAA!” And in the blink of an eye, the rush of blood spurting off his now bleeding gums allowed him to put two and two together and realize what that scream entailed.  
  
And while perhaps at first his mind could barely process how he hit the ground this quick, his eyes did in fact caught a glimpse of an elbow burying itself into his face. The strength behind that elbow smashing into him was completely monstrous; it made him recoil in terror.   
  
“… not anymore, at least” Gray stated, now with the previous burden he was carrying now removed.  
  
This guy, who the other fellow had addressed by the name ‘Parker’, was currently looking at both Gray and the young man right next to him with absolute dread.  


“You… you said—!”  
  
“See…” Gray interrupted him, while squatting next to his side. “…there’s this neat little amendment to Article 6 that allows members of the student council to take matters into their own hands if they choose to see fit to do as much” Gray offered a cocky grin. “Cool stuff, huh?”   
  
“Motherf—aaaaarrrgh!” He cut short his curse when he realized that pang of pain was shooting up in intensity just now, so both his hands immediately tried to dull the pain his mouth was feeling.  
  
“Whoa! Who are you?” The other guy asked in a very shook manner. The green-haired student turned to look at him while massaging his left arm.  
  
“Me? Ah, that’s right. I should’ve done this in the first place” The boy adjusted his school jacket’s collar as he said that. “Alm Flowers, 16 years of age, 1st year group B, and the Student Council President for Zofia Academy’s high school division. Pleased to meet you!” During that last sentence, Alm extended a hand, offering a friendly greeting.  
  
The scrawnier fellow threw President Flowers a rather confused look. “Wait, did you just do an introduction? Why? What’s that mean? Do you, like, live in TV-land or something?”  
  
“Oh, of course not” Alm took back his greeting hand, while providing his signature peaceful smile in return. “I just figured what with your eyes on me, you’d be less likely to notice your pockets getting picked”  
  
“My wha—?” And before he could utter anything else, he reached down his back pocket and noticed: His wallet  was gone. “Hey, hold the f—! What the hell?!”  
  
Alm caught the quick toss Tobin threw at him. Almost as if orchestrated, the Zofia Academy’s Student Council President opened the wallet that also doubled as student pocket book.  
  
“All right, then! Jack Ashley and…” He took a pause to receive something from Gray. Seemed like the other guy’s wallet. “… Thank you, Gray! Donald Parker, both students from Capital City High School, according to the info here. Hmm, well isn’t that quite a ways away? Listen, if you want a guided tour of the school’s premises, unfortunately you need to make a request in advance. But if you go to the Academy’s website, we can have it processed over the weekend so, come Monday, I’ll personally give you the tour. How does that sound?” Alm’s formal tone left no room to question: He was sincere in the offer to allow the two students currently causing the entire ruckus an opportunity to show up next week.  
  
“Wha—” And before he could notice, Alm had let his right-hand fly at Jack once again. For his part, Jack tried to bring his hands up in time to defend, but he knew it was a futile exercise. With a lightning fast finger flick, the president’s current opponent hit the ground, knee first.  
  
“AAAAAGGGH! My eye!” He hissed in pain right after that sedate declaration. “What the fuck! Who aims for the eye? Fuck! Oh gods! Ah-ha-ha-haaaooouuuuuch!”  
  
Alm cringed a little bit at the results of his handiwork. “Huh, and I’m pretty sure here that I aimed for your eye-lid”  
  
“Are you fucking shitting me here? Who gets specific with that? Ugh, oh gods!” Jack doubled over in pain to kiss the asphalt. “Why the eye?”  
  
“Oh! Well it seems like someone’s a little bit slow on the uptake here”  
  
“Kliff, that’s terrible!” Tobin tried to act offended in the stead of the two guys currently down for the count. “Guy is clearly shocked! I mean, he… probably expected to walk outta here all cocksure with whatever objectives he had achieved, not… y’know… end up going down like a sack of potatoes” Unfortunately, his snorts gave the game away.  
  
“Yeah, they never learn” Kliff squatted over to this Jack fellow to poke his face and make sure he was still conscious.  
  
Gabriel and Jonathan were not sure what had transpired just now, but seeing how their Captain kept it mostly together, the realization hit them: He was just stalling for time for the last bit there.  
  
“So, who’s up for it?” Gray’s question was directed at three people in particular.  
  
“Well, Faye ain’t here, but I’m sure she’ll forgive us” Tobin replied.  
  
“Well, alright then!” Gray stomped three times as if they were dance moves, with the third stomp being the strongest one. “Ram City Crew—!”  
  
“RE-PREEE-SEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNT!” Tobin, Kliff, Gray and Alm shouted in unison, with both Kliff and Gray using both cupped hands as makeshift megaphones, while Tobin and Alm did it one-handed instead.  
  
“Wooooo! Yeah!” Mae cheered along with them, high-fiving Alm and Tobin after they were done. “President! That was amazing!”  
  
“Well, I’ve been known to have my days of not completely sucking” Alm calmly tosses the wallets of the guys he just took down so they’re right next to them. “Are you guys all right? Genny told me you were in hot water”  
  
“Sure, nothing to i—” Mae interrupted herself when she noticed an additional presence right behind Alm. “Wait, Ms. Anthiese?”  
  
“Yes. Sorry I’m late, President” Anthiese had to catch her breath for a spell after those words.  
  
“Ah, no big deal, Ms. Lindenbaum. I had just started asking Ms. Reiss here for details on what exactly transpired. Do you have your notebook with you?”  
  
“Sure do, President!”  
  
“Well, I’m going to ask—”  
  
“Actually” A strong, somewhat husky voice interrupted Alm. “I would like to ask you for details as well, young man.”

 

At hearing that voice, Alm shuddered lightly for a moment before standing straight as a spear and turning to face the owner. “O-oh. Captain Glass! H-how are you?” Alm’s shaky smile left no doubt that this was not a prospect he was looking forward to. “In what manner can I help you today?”  
  
The Silver and Blue uniform matched with a commissar cap, the long hair tied to a perfectly neat ponytail all left no room for doubt in the student council president’s mind. The woman in front of them was no other than Mathilda Glass.  
  
“At ease, Flowers: I’m sure your judgement of action was the proper one” At that, Alm let out a sigh of relief. “But from what I’ve heard from this institution’s sister school in Rigel, this kind of thing is going to keep happening more often than not from here on out” She continued.  
  
“Wait, so Rigel Academy is also having issues like this?”  
  
“Indeed, and like you, Rigel Academy’s own Student Council has been forced to take matters into their own hands. Furthermore…”  
  
Away from their conversation, Mae and Boey were whispering to each other. “Hey, who’s this lady?” Boey’s volume left Mae feeling a tad odd.  
  
“No idea. She’s hot as hell, though!” She giggled in anticipation after taking another look at Captain Mathilda.  
  
“Oh for the love of… Mae, how is that appropriate?”  
  
“Well, do you want me to just lie to you? Like, if you were in her league, wouldn’t you try and hit on her?”  
  
“Well, now that you—ugh, whatever!” Boey quickly shook his head. Mae’s pace is infectious, after all. “Just… keep it in your pants. Plus Milady is here too”  
  
“Party pooper!” She blew a raspberry at him.  
  
“Is something the matter? Mae? Boey?” Her voice sneaking up behind them, Anthiese’s line of questioning caught them both unaware.  
  
“Nope, nothing to it Milady! Not a thing!” There was a stride to Mae’s head shaking that gave all the telling signs she was putting up a front…  
  
“Hmm. Well, if you say so” … but in situations like these, Anthiese preferred to leave her and Boey to their own devices.  
  
Back to Alm and Captain Mathilda’s chat…  
  
“I see. All right, then. I’ll make sure to keep an eye for it, Captain Glass” Alm quickly stretched his fingers one by one. “Taking advantage of the fact that you’re already here, would you like to go and see the Headmaster?”  
  
“Oh, I don’t want to impose! I’m sure Clive has quite a lot of things to do just before the weekend starts”  
  
“What? Oh, come on, Captain Glass!”  
  
“I just don’t think that’d be appropriate. I mean, he surely must be busy”  
  
“Considering all the paperwork he pushes towards Principal Chun and my way, not stinking likely.” Captain Mathilda let out a very abrupt snort at seeing the life briefly escape Alm’s eyes.  
  
“Now that does sound like Clive! Loathes the paperwork with a passion, even if he’s an excellent leader otherwise. Very well, then: lead the way”

* * *

  
  
**7\. The Young Lions**  
  
Watching Captain Mathilda and Headmaster Clive being affectionate with each other always left him feeling a bit puzzled. Highly celebrated due to her unmatched battle prowess in the One Brotherhood of Valentia’s military though she may be, Alm had become familiar with this song and dance, though no effort of his own, if he must admit.

 

The two adults currently standing a few steps from him right now seemed to have more in common with a couple of lovebirds than with the military living legend and the miracle worker of Zofia’s premier teaching institution.  
  
“Oh, mon amour!” Mathilda breathed each of those words in old Rigelian.  
  
“¡Oh, mi bella doncella de guerra!” Headmaster’s own old-Zofian wasn’t half-bad.  
  
Before long, they were all over each other, with Captain Glass pulling the Headmaster by his tie before giving him a big kiss.  
  
While this was happening inside of the Headmaster’s office, the Student Council, also within the same confined space, collectively felt increasing levels of awkwardness at the development they were all trying to avoid witnessing by all means. They all had their different ways of doing so: Alm was the only one standing, in his case directly in front of the window while tapping his right foot and hands behind his back, Anthiese was looking at her knees, face almost completely beet red, Silque had her eyes closed while deep in prayer, Kliff had opted for the sensible option of covering his face with a book while mostly pretending to be asleep and Clair…

  
“Eugh…”  


… well, Clair Alexandra Jorgensen was a survivor of this courtship, so back when she was a little girl, every time he saw her teenaged older brother return home covered in bruises but with hearts in his eyes, even she became aware that the cause for her brother’s stupefied state was none other than the heir of the Glass household. If Alm claimed to be familiar with this whole song and dance, Clair was the teacher with lifetime tenure. She wasn’t having any of it.  
  
“I have to admit: The possibility of spending the beginning of my weekend witnessing two adults and their ribald displays of affection had not occurred to me”  
  
“Oh grow up, will you Clair?” Clive interrupted his torrid displays of affection with Captain Glass for a moment to snark back at his younger sister. Mathilda smiled at her future sister-in-law’s words.  
  
“Must I remind you that I am, in fact, a woman in the apex of adolescence? This opinion of mine might seem like it is just a phase, but it is also a perfectly sensible opinion”

  
“I wonder if the turgid manner of speech is also just a phase”  
  
At that, Clair gasped. Knowing what was coming, Silque stopped her prayers for a second to nudge Kliff awake with a gentle elbow to the gut.  
  
“Bwogh!” His response while abruptly snapping back into consciousness was to be expected. His quick, feline-like reflexes allowing him to catch the book before it fell to the ground were not. “WASN’T SLEEPING!” He abruptly yelled before letting out a gasp. “Wasn’t sleeping at all… I was just… uh, keeping my eyes on standby”  
  
At everything that was going on, the raspy sound of a throat getting cleared managed to cut through it all. It was Alm’s own special way of bringing the focus back to the impromptu all-hands meeting at Headmaster Clive’s office. At that, Clair offered a smile and a small nod towards him when she caught him looking back at the couch the rest of the student council members were sitting on.  
  
“Can you tell us what is it that you brought us all here, brother?”

 

“Right, it’s probably for the best” Clive said while adjusting his necktie. He glanced at his fiancée, who coquettishly winked at him before she teasingly tapped his nose. “Given that the beginning of the new school year has gone by and that you’re all growing into your roles, we need to plan for the Inter-High meetup, which our school will be hosting in a few more weeks from now”  
  
As if on cue, at seeing Headmaster Jorgensen’s motion to come forward, Alm moved away from the window and started to walk towards the chairs placed in front of the Headmaster’s desk; the rest of the student council stood up, with Anthiese herself moving towards the chairs as well.  
  
“This year will be a little different, since Rigel Academy’s very own student council and school board will be aiding us with the planning as well. Lukas, are you there?”  
  
Before either Alm or Anthiese could take a seat, they joined the rest of the council in looking back as the Headmaster’s office door opened at an even pace, revealing the ever peaceful presence of their Principal, Lukas Chun.  
  
“I am indeed. Greetings on this start of the weekend, student council, and—”  
  
“Lukas!” Mathilda’s friendly voice came out for the dark red-haired man serving as the High School principal.  
  
“Captain Glass? To what do we owe this tremendous pleasure?” They grabbed each other’s hands as Lukas inquired as to why she was here.  
  
“Oh, stop it you!” She smacked him on the shoulder while looking mildly embarrassed.  
  
“Trust me, it’s no mere adulation. I always enjoy our conversations to a delightful cup of coffee or tea. But that will have to wait” He massaged his right shoulder while exchanging looks with a certain green-haired youth. “Alm, do you have the notes and minutiae from yesterday’s meeting?”  
  
“Ah, yes!” The student council president checked his student jacket’s pockets to see if he could find it. “Lemme see… ah! There—”  
  
When he noticed that he pulled up the two courtesy movie tickets he found within his desk drawer earlier today, a number of people threw him a number of looks implying different things, especially as he proceeded to stick them back into his breast pocket almost right away. He tried avoiding all the eyes on him.  
  
The one most telling, however, was the person that took the opportunity to look away.  
  
“Anthiese, are you perhaps feeling ill?” Silque quickly diverted her attention towards Anthiese, whose face had quickly turned red due to furious blushing.  
  
“It is quite alright! I just suddenly remembered something that needed to be taken care of”  
  
“Hmm, well I’ll not further pry into your business”  
  
_‘Curses! Alm, what were you thin— no wait, this is a problem of my own devising’_ Anthiese bit her lip in regret at the momentary setback she had encountered in her ploy, her thoughts a wild arrangement of _‘I should be glad that he had enough foresight to stash them back’_

 

“All right, here it is!” Alm was finally able to find the meeting’s notes. “What do you need from here?” He asked as a follow-up, while unfolding the paper.  
  
“I think that the phone number to contact your Rigel Academy’s counterpart, one Berkut Rudolf, was included as part of a conversation, am I wrong?”  
  
“Hmmmmm… a-ha, here it is!”  
  
“All right, then let’s call him” Flowers handed Lukas the paper containing the necessary notes.  
  
“Well, I suppose that is my cue to exit stage” Mathilda tapped Alm on the shoulder before her departure. “Oh and remember, Flowers: On Sunday we have our sparring match”  
  
“Of course! Please make sure to rest” Alm extended his hand and both he and Mathilda shook on it as a proper non-verbal agreement.  
  
After they watched the beautiful and dutiful queen of Clive’s heart walk away, Alm felt another tap on his shoulder almost immediately.  
  
“President, what does that mean?”  
  
At Anthiese’s question, Alm felt a bit confused, but then the realization hit him. “Oh, right! Only some teachers and the directorial staff know”  
  
“Ever since I graduated Middle School, I’ve been staying here in the Capital. Thanks to the fact that I was NOT very familiar with the city, Headmaster arranged for me to stay at the dorms since early on, but since there was precious little to do, Captain Glass and her little sisters often took me around town. And as a form of repayment, I often spar with the Captain, whenever pockets of time allow it”  
  
Anthiese was both fascinated and a little hesitant to ask for more details. “Well, that’s most certainly not the answer I was expecting”  
  
“Honestly? I kinda welcome the challenge” Alm was opening and closing his left hand at a steady pace. “Hopefully soon I’ll be able to come a little closer to defeating her”  
  
“… I’m sorry, what?” Surprise foisted itself in the Vice-President’s eyes.  
  
Alm’s right eyebrow jumped up, as if to ask the question for Anthiese.  
  
“What was the last thing you just said?” Anthiese’s question had a certain urgency to its pace.  
  
“That… hopefully soon I will be able to take a step closer to achieving victory over Mathilda Glass as my fighting opponent?”  
  
“But it’s you, President” She found herself reaching for his clenched fist with both her hands. “I have a hard time picturing you tasting defeat. Is Captain Glass truly so formidable an opponent?”  
  
Before long, she realized what she was doing. “Ah! Sorry about that!” And her cheeks turned flushed pink, even as she snapped back and took her hands off of his.

 

At this, Alm let out a friendly chuckle. “Just goes to show you: There’s always someone better out there. I’m just thankful that I’ve found such an incredibly worthy opponent so early”  
  
“I’m sorry if this comes off as an unreasonable request, but can I come and watch? I’m… ever curious as to the way these sparring sessions unfold”

 

“Ah, of course, by all means. It’ll be on the main gym, in most likelihood, so really any student that wishes to attend is welcome to do so. Since it’s the weekends, normally the only people there are Professor Valbar Wisteria and Coach Forsy—”  
  
“Alm, sorry to interrupt your conversation with the Vice-President, but the call is currently connecting. We should be speaking with young mister Rudolf any second now”  
  
“Right of course" He nodded towards Principal Chun’s request before quickly tapping Anthiese on the shoulder. “I’ll be waiting at the school’s gate at 3 P.M. on Sunday”  
  
At that, Anthiese offered a cheerful smile before whispering in his ear. “I’ll be there”  
  
And before long, one strong voice echoed through the speaker phone. “Hello? Can you hear me properly?”  
  
Alm leaned forward from his seat a little bit. “We hear you loud and clear. Is this Rigel Academy’s student council president, Berkut Mark Rudolf?”  
  
“Indeed. I take it I am currently speaking with Alm James Flowers, head of the student government for Zofia Academy in its high school division. Am I wrong?”  
  
“You are not. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mister Rudolf”  
  
“Heh. I hope that is the case”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was, originally, completely done almost 3 weeks ago, but between editing it and, surprisingly, getting the inspiration to write for a couple of chapters ahead, I came back to add a couple of things, since I figured it would make the story going forward feel less bogged down. Since that process proceeded to repeat itself several times during those 21 days, it kept adding up. As a consequence of that, this chapter was almost four times as long as what I had originally intended and while I still managed to cut a good chunk of it (if it's good enough for Kurt Vonnegut to give it as advice on his "How to write with style", it's good enough to take it as a piece of advice), the final result is still double the pages of the original finished draft for this chapter.
> 
> As always, please feel free to let me know your thoughts on this little chapter. Criticism is welcome!


	4. The Ram City Crew & the Novis Priory Squad (2 of 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introduction is narrated by Genny, who otherwise only has a minor role in this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few more characters are introduced this chapter.

The Novis Priory is a monastery with a relatively small history for something of its ilk. Started by a young Nomah Reiss after his honorable discharge from the One Brotherhood of Valentia’s Medical Squadron, it welcomes any and all who require asylum for reasons as diverse as stars in the sky… wait, no, that’s terrible; my editor is going to hate this! What kind of hopeless hack writes like that with a straight face! Certainly not me! No sir! I’m a Naga Award hopeful, so my hack status is still pending! Let’s start from the to—no! The start of that was ok. The middle.  
  
Hmm. Right! So, after an interview from Father Reiss himself, a person should be welcomed into the priory with very little difficulties. Due to some circumstances, Father Reiss has had to turn people away a few times more often than he would wish to recently, but for the most part, he’s totally cool no matter what your background is… hmm, would that work? Hmmmrrmrrhghgrmm… maybe I should ask Ce—wait, no. She goes by Anthiese again now that we’re on main land, right?  
  
I wonder if she misses using her chosen name. I bet that President Flowers would probably remember her better if he heard her be referred by that name. I hope those two can get together soon, so that I can finally get some serious romantic writing going.

Fuhuhuhuhuhu! Oh, sometimes I wish somebody would stop me from being myself this much.

* * *

 **8\. Kliff Oswalt is smiling on the inside.  
  
**\- Monday 4:30 AM, 4th week. Zofia Academy Dormitories, Main Campus. –

  
A young man is staring at himself in the mirror of his dorm’s bathroom. The wide-eyed, blank stare which he’s currently displaying to an audience of one has a reason. Is it a good one? Only he knows, really.  
  
“Hey buddy” A friendly greeting materializes as his roommate enters the bathroom and proceeds to walk behind the empty-eyed man with his towel on one shoulder. “Everything OK, Alm?”  
  
It takes Alm Flowers a couple of seconds to even register his friend’s presence.  
  
“A… bugh, bhuh?” The green-haired lad seemed to have finally snapped out of his living-dead status just now. “Abh Byeah, bam pfaine” Alm replied with the most non-committing tone he’s probably used this year.  
  
“You sure? Because you look like you just saw a ghost. Also, please take the toothbrush out of your mouth, you sound like a doofus”  
  
“G’ajgh! Forry” He quickly did his wash-gargle-spit routine to get this morning going. “I… hmm” Alm covered his mouth with his left hand to try and give his next words some thought. “So, just saying hypothetically here”  
  
“OK, let’s hear it” Kliff was familiar with this routine. After Faye, he has known him the longest and despite all his idiosyncrasies, Alm Flowers has remained an anchoring, supportive presence, especially considering the bro-synthesis of the wiseass/oblivious combo of Gray and Tobin, and how Faye could, if left to her own devices, talk your ear out in record time. As a result, he didn’t really mind whenever Alm needed to pick his brain when it came to regular life.  
  
“Let’s say that, hypothetically, I was able to overcome my ‘mountain trial’ and—hypothetically, of course” Alm began scratching his chin right before his hand traveled to the part of his neck right below his left ear.  
  
“Oh, but of course! Nothing set in stone” Kliff could read his friend like an open book, so he already had a good idea that whatever was going on, he wouldn’t really have all that much to worry about.  
  
“Alright, so… let’s say that I was hypothetically able to beat Captain Mathilda for the very first time yesterday”  
  
At that moment, Kliff’s look went from his eternally half-lidded chillness to both eyebrows shooting up to his forehead in surprise. “Fair enough. I did not see that one coming”  
  
“Listen, it’s just a hypothetical question. Noth—”  
  
“Wait, REALLY?” Before long, Kliff hugged Alm in a congratulatory manner. “Nice work, man! We just got another notch for our collective belt!” Again: A decade of knowing this goofy lad has absolutely paid dividends for Kliff. “Should we celebrate? Put it there!” He broke the hug and offered a high-five.  
  
“Not sure how I should process the fact that I apparently am this easy to read” Alm reluctantly high-fived his roommate.  
  
“You’re basically like the older brother I never wanted but ended up cherishing either way. Don’t sweat the small stuff” Alm knew that, despite his blunt manner of speech, Kliff meant that as high praise, and that he would have his back in any situation. That he’s approaching a somewhat cheerful tone did not surprise him, but Alm was grateful nonetheless.  
  
“And you know what? This whole thing is awesome, is what it is. Do you understand? If you can stand your ground against the Godslayer herself, that means we can contemplate the potential of getting overseas assignments, and I don’t know about you, but doing work in Zofia can get a little stale. Maybe we can get deployed over inside of Rigel. Hells, we can even go on an overseas tour! Imagine going to Hoshido. I know Tobin would absolutely love to go there”

  
“Well, sure!” Alm looked up at the ceiling for a moment. “Now that you put it that way, I wouldn’t mind going to Velthomer or Thracia myself” He added while getting the remaining dream off his eyes.  
  
“Yeah, that’d be great!” Inside his head, Kliff was already contemplating a myriad of possibilities. “I mean, didn’t some serious conflict go down between several countries over at Archanea a few years ago as well? And if some of the higher-ups get lippy, we can just lay it out there ‘Oh, sure I understand your concerns, but just so we’re on the same page: Our field leader threw down with a bona-fide war heroine and not only did he manage to hold his ground, he came out on top, so suck it’… or something to that effect, you know” It was at times like these that Alm knew that he had awakened the sleeping giant within Kliff Oswalt. He didn’t really mind, though. Kliff has never been super emotive, so any joie de vivre he could coax out of him, even if it was mostly by happenstance, was a win on Alm’s book.

“Hmm, well… I know we could potentially get in over our heads in one of these potential tours really fast, but yeah, we could use that move up the ladder. Maybe a little scheduled talk with upper brass will clean the air”

  
“See? All the more reason we should celebrate” Kliff patted his buddy on the back between words.  
  
“Well, all right, I’ll talk to Faye later so that she can help me with the arrangements” His teeth still felt kind of unclean, so Alm decided to step it up and brush them once more, but before he could reach out and grab the toothpaste, he had a quick train of thought interrupt him…

 “Apropos of Faye, have you heard anything about her recently? Like, I know we see her on the daily, but I kind of feel like she’s been keeping to herself a lot, lately” He said, before quickly resuming with his daily cleaning rituals.  
  
“Hmmm… well, other than the fact she spends half the day with her nose buried in books with some history major weirdo, no. Not really” Kliff removed his t-shirt after placing his towel above the toilet rack.

Alm blinked for a moment at his roommate’s nonchalance about their common childhood friend before gargling and spitting once again.

  
“That kinda sounds like plenty to me” The mint-haired boy proceeded to wash his face with a small facial brush.  
  
“His name is Luthor or something like that?” Alm threw some water in as Kliff tried to remember the name of the person tutoring Faye while undoing the bow on his sweat pants.  
  
“All right, I’ll ask her once she’s awake” The green-haired lad used his shorts to dry out his hands.  
  
“Going for your morning jog/exercise?”  
  
“Yeah. I’ll catch you guys later” Alm waved at his fellow dorm-mate before leaving the bathroom.  
  
“Deal” And that was Kliff’s signal to get a quick shower in, just as he removed his sweat pants and underwear.

  
\--  
  
After around 10 minutes, Kliff was done showering and drying. He wrapped his purple towel around his waist before stepping out of the bathroom, which prompted a quick yawn. Immediately afterwards, he noticed something that put him on edge.  
  
Alm’s bed was currently occupied.

 

 _‘Wait, didn’t he mention going for his morning exercise?’_ Kliff’s thoughts immediately assumed that Alm had decided that a last minute to take a rain check on his morning routine. He couldn’t blame him, really, since his training menu can get positively insane, and the fact he sometimes goes like 4 days without taking a day to rest properly lowkey worries him sometimes.  
  
_‘Eh, maybe he wasn’t feeling it…’_ And just like that, he dismissed his concerns away with a shrug as he reached into his bed’s drawer to get a pair of boxers. After putting his underwear for the day on, he checked the three shirts he had placed atop his bed.  
  
_‘Hmm… yeah, let’s go with black and red for today’_ and so he picked his black shirt with a red eye on the top right.  
  
Suddenly, he heard a yawn while he was putting his shirt on. What threw him for a loop, though, is that this yawn did not belong to Alm. When he turned back and saw a figure emerge from between the sheets, he was glad that no one else was there to hear his short-lived, but quite loud scream.  
  
  
“Faye, what the hell are you doing here?!”  
  
“I slept here?” The wiz-kid looked positively dumb-founded at hearing Faye admit how she came to materialize in his and Alm’s dorm room. Specifically, how she came to sleep inside of his dorm mate’s bed without him noticing.  
  
His face contorted into a painful grimace.  “Not this again. It’s just way too early for this”  
  
“Well, I was having a nightmare and couldn’t quite conceive sleep, so at around 10 PM, before curfew, mind you, I—“  
  
Kliff buried his face into his right hand before letting out a rather heavy sigh that rather quickly morphed into a groan.  
  
“Kliff, please don’t do that. It’s incredibly rude!”  
  
“Faye, please remember: He may have the patience of a saint for us because we’re his family in all but name, but you and Alm are no longer an item, capisce? If you keep slipping back here, unannounced, people are most definitely going to get the wrong idea about your relationship and both of you are gonna get into major trouble. You know that, I know that, the R.A. knows that—even if he’s too much of a scaredy-cat to say anything—hell, even Tobin might know it”  
  
“You don’t understand! Cuddling with Alm is… like the best safety blanket”  
  
“Really” Kliff didn’t feel like indulging Faye, but had to get the skinny some way.  
  
“It’s true!” She stretched for a bit. “I actually found out when I saw Tobin using Alm’s stomach as an impromptu pillow after a mission and he said ‘Oh, man! Best. Nap. Ever!’ or something to that effect”

Kliff chuckled for a little spell, thanks to Faye’s great impression of their longtime mutual buddy… then he realized what she was doing and shook his head to snap out of it. “Faye” His tone was sharp right out of the gate.

  
“And even if we’re not dating anymore, if he needs me like I—“  
  
“Faye” His volume rose slightly when he interrupted her.  
  
“Kliff” But she was having none of it.  
  
“Faye. I…” Kliff sighed. “Look, I know it shouldn’t have had to be like this, but we can’t keep burdening Alm with everything” He placed his hands on her shoulders  
  
“It’s no burden! Listen: Just try it. Try cuddling with Alm and you’ll see what I mean. He’ll be totally fine with you if you ask him”

Kliff Oswalt has always considered himself to be down to earth, so few things ever fazed him for long. And even with her best attempts to do so, Faye’s little coping rituals had successfully become just another routine for him. So he did what any sensible person would do in his place when it came to topics of this ilk.

  
“…to hell with this. I’m going back to bed” And just like that, Kliff Oswalt delayed starting his week.

* * *

**9\. Tobin Draym— wait… what did he do now?**

\- Friday 3:37 PM. 4th week. Zofia Academy’s Main Cafeteria –  
  
“Oh gods shut up, Tobin”  
  
There’s a particular table by the kitchen that’s more or less the stomping grounds for five individuals. At the moment, four of them were sighted in said table. Out of the four, two were currently locked in a heated argument.  
  
“What? I’m just saying that perhaps it ain’t so bad!”  
  
“Tobe, learn to read the mood please. We’re in high school already for crying out loud”  
  
“But dating just for the sake of dating seems so… well, contrarian!”  
  
Gray looked at the ceiling for a moment. He knows that he shouldn’t get so exasperated at him. Tobin marches to the beat of his own drum in many aspects, and this was probably one of those.  
  
“Alm, Kliff: Do you mind explaining to this dolt how the real world works?”  
  
“Actually, I’m with Tobin on this one, since it sounds like a sensible opinion, all in all?” Alm cut in, not sure if he used the most convincing of tones. He was busy writing something down, so he had mostly heard fragments of the back and forth between two of his childhood friends.  
  
“Alm’s right. That’s pretty much as sophisticated as Tobin gets, Gray” Kliff had to hand it to Tobin.  
  
“Thanks, you guys” Tobin winked at both his current defenders.  
  
“Holy Duma, you guys are useless!” Gray buried both elbows into the table while sinking his face into his hands. “It’s not about having someone you fancy; it’s putting yourself out there. Showing the world that yeah, you’re hot stuff and ready to be manhandled” He quickly changed his tune and busted out into the offensive.

“Uh, no offense, but that kind of makes you sound like a fuckboy, Gray”  
  
“What” Gray’s face rose up from his hands, to an audience which seemed to be mostly non-friendly. It made him feel like an outsider.  
  
“A fuckboy” Kliff repeated, this time with a little more pizzazz.  
  
“Kliff I heard you the first time. I’m just not sure what that means or why you’re using it in such a negative way”  
  
“Of course you don’t” Kliff took a sip of his orange juice before fiddling with his chair to get a bit more comfortable. “Okay, here’s an example: is there a girl that you like?”  
  
“Uh, sure?” Gray was unsure as to where his acerbic friend was going with this.  
  
“Okay. Have you mentioned your raison d'être to her?”  
  
At that question, Gray burped. Kliff recoiled back for a bit.  
  
“Sorry about that. Do you mean the ‘putting myself out there to be manhandled’ part or the ‘I like you’ part? Because I feel kinda ambivalent about telling someone I like either of those things”  
  
“Kliff’s clearly talking about the latter, you clown” Tobin intervened.  
  
“What? No! She’s way out of my league. The hell’s wrong with you, tiny?” Even if he tried to appear as the laid-back one in their group most of the time, Gray often hid his fierce streak, so when it came out, it often came in outpours.  
  
“So you feel more comfortable telling a girl that you’re down for some action instead of telling her how you actually feel?”  
  
“Well, duh!”  
  
“Gray. You are, without a single doubt in my mind, the textbook definition of a fuckboy” When Kliff looked at Gray, he felt like the point had gone over his head. “Oh, for f— a fuckboy is basically a guy who’s emotionally unavailable and just wants to have his fun, dick around and cheese it once he’s had his fill”  
  
“Oh” Gray seemed to not take too kindly to the label, now that Kliff had successfully drilled it through his head.  
  
“Damn, Kliff” Even the people in the backseats got the message. “That was straight up savage”  
  
“Thank you, Tobin” For Kliff, this was praise of the highest order.

  
“Say, boys: Do you mind?” A somewhat cutting but friendly voice made its presence known at Alm’s side of the table. “This is a public establishment, so would you be so kind as to please mind your volume?”

  
All four high schoolers turned to look at the owner of said voice and found the Cafeteria’s general manager.  
  
“Sorry, Leon” All four boys said in unison, with the student council president offering a slight bow as well. “I know I should order at the counter and all, but can I get some iced coffee, please?” Alm added.  
  
“You’re looking quite bent out of shape there, Pres. Is it something the matter?”  
  
Alm sighed when Leon put that question forth.  
  
“The Inter-High meetup”  
  
“Oh, that’s right. That starts up in a few weeks, doesn’t it?”  
  
“Yeah, and both the Student Council President and Principal from Rigel Academy are being a giant pain in the posterior with their requests” Suddenly, a brief vibration made Alm’s smartphone move. He buried his face on the table, using his arms to create a cocoon of sorts for his head while pushing the device to one side. “That’s probably Rigel Academy’s StuCo President. Again” His weary words came out half-mumbled, probably due to the table distorting his mouth.  
  
“Is that so?” Suddenly, Leon gained a glint in his eyes. “Care to name any names for your friendly neighborhood?”  
  
“Ah, sure…” Alm turned to look at his trusted treasurer, who just shrugged, basically giving him the go ahead. “Berkut Rudolf and Fernand Ilane?  I think I’m pronouncing it right? I hope I get it proper—”

  
“Ugh, stop” Leon cut off Alm before anything else could be said. “Sorry Pres. The first one kind of rings a bell, what with the fancy last name and all, but I’m well acquainted with the green-eyed idiot that goes by the name Fernand Ilane”  
  
“And from the sound of it, you’re not a fan” Tobin interrupted.  
  
“Raging, prejudiced bell-end” Leon stated, very matter-of-factly, about Rigel Academy’s current principal, all while checking if his manicure was done properly. “And that’s without considering how badly he had it for both the current headmaster and his fiancée”  
  
All four boys stared at Leon with a mix of confusion and cringe in their faces.  
  
“In common parlance, ain’t that some shit?” The manager for Zofia Academy’s main cafeteria sighed. He seemed a bit relieved. “But who knows. That was a number of years ago. Maybe he has turned a new leaf?”  
  
“I sure hope so. Otherwise things are going to get really awkward really fast” Alm placed his cellphone back.  
  
“Aaanyway. I’ll be right back with your iced coffee in a few. Don’t want to be a sixth wheel and all. Ta-tah!”

  
Alm suddenly thought about Leon’s last sentence. _‘He doesn’t want to be a sixth wheel? What did he—?’_

 

“Ahem!” And then he quickly realized what the cafeteria manager meant. “Are you perhaps Alm Flowers, student council president of the high school section?”  
  
“Yes, that would be me” A ginger-haired man towered above them. “Ummm—“  
  
“Oh, pardon my rudeness. I am Conrad Lindenbaum”  
  
At hearing that name, Gray’s eyes widened in shock. He quickly borrowed Tobin’s ear. Just a few seconds of secrecy between the two roommates later... “Oooh, gods!” … both boys abruptly stood up their seats. “Uh, excuse us for a second! Gotta take a dump!”  
  
Alm and Kliff were familiar with such a scene to the point it barely got anything but maybe an eye-roll from Kliff if that. Conrad, however, was not familiar with such a display, so his confusion was understandable on all fronts at Tobin’s calling of his bathroom break.  
  
“Well, that is certainly not an expected reaction” But the tall redhead quickly shook his head to shift his focus to where it mattered to try and make the best of a situation. “May I speak with you, Mister Flowers?”  
  
“Uh, sure! Come on and be rad, Conrad!” He winked as he offered the taller man a seat. Conrad threw him an odd look while his friend just covered his snort using his right hand.  
  
“As you may know, I am Anthiese’s older brother, so imagine my surprise at finding members of th—”  
  
“Alright, I’m gonna stop you right there, Big Red” A sudden and fairly rude interruption kept Conrad from proceeding with his piece. But said act came from a party no one had expected.  
  
Well, maybe not Conrad.  
  
“I’m holding fast the hope that you’re perhaps not about to shove not just your foot, but your whole damn leg into your mouth if you plan to continue this conversation” It was in moments like this that Alm knew it’d be better if he said nothing, for Kliff was all he could ask in a foil when it came to situations that required someone playing the part of the bad guy.  
  
And Alm is godawful at playing the bad guy.  
  
“Now, do you understand?” The youngest of his childhood companions tapped the right side of his nose twice using his index and middle fingers. “Or do you, perhaps, need a refresher?” He tapped his nose again, but this time it was only once.  
  
Almost as if following a rhythm, Conrad tapped the left side of his nose twice.  
  
“Atta boy” Kliff gave Anthiese’s older brother a dual thumbs up. “Proceed, then”  
  
Conrad felt like he needed to tread lightly going forward with what he intended to say.  
  
“Appreciate it. Since Anthiese has spoken quite high praises of your feats so far in your tenure, Mister Flowers, she spoke at length about the possibility of having you and the rest of the student council members visiting our humble abode for their next meeting, which if possible, she’d like to see to fruition from this weekend to the next”  
  
“Of course, I’d be honored” Alm displayed absolutely no hesitation in his reply. “Kliff, how about you?”  
  
“I don’t really mind. Sure”  
  
“Very well, I shall speak with Ms. Jorgensen and Sister Silque to get confirmation on this to move forward, then” Alm’s warm smile after those words gave Anthiese’s older brother pause. It was probable that the student council president had answered more than one question just now.  
  
“Well, if I’m completely hon--” Before Conrad could continue, his phone made itself known with a rather bass-heavy ringtone. When he glanced upon the caller, he became a bit nervous and fumbled with the device for a spell. “Well, curses. Forgive me, I must take my leave. Pleased to meet you, Mister Flowers; Mister Oswalt.” He shook hands with Alm and offered a slight bow towards Kliff before departing.  
  
Kliff let out a sigh as they both watched Conrad leave. “Close call”  
  
“Indeed. No wonder Gray and Tobin booked it” Alm decided against his better judgement to check his phone before letting out a brief snort at the message he received.  
  
Curious as to what elicited that reaction, Kliff chuckled when Alm showed him the message and recipient.

 _Tell Gray to stop being an idiot_  
_and get off Tobin’s case._  
  
_Faye <3  
_

* * *

  
**10\. Patrick Erholtz is a snake.**  
  
\- Sunday 3:47 PM, 3rd week. Zofia Academy Main Gym. -  
  
The sensation in his stomach, even with the protective gear accounted for, has him realize that it’s only been about 5 minutes, at most, since this sparring match started, and he has already been pushed to go back to a defensive stance. His breathing was all over the place, too.  
  
_‘Is this my mettle?’_ He wondered, but quickly brushed this particular thought aside. He needed to concentrate on the opponent. Self-effacement can wait.

“Is this truly the extent of your skillset, Mister Flowers?” He almost chuckled at how she almost had his number to the hilt. It was worthy of one of those stand-up comedy bits that Gray enjoyed so much. “Perhaps I should consider having a different person as my sparring partner, after all”  
  
_‘No… don’t get carried away. She’s doing this on purpose. Focus, dammit’_ Once again, his thoughts kept throwing him curve-balls.  
  
“Woo! Kick his ass, Captain!” Hearing Mae’s cheers for his defeat left the student council president of Zofia Academy feeling a bit hurt.  
  
“Mae! Be quiet”  
  
“Well, excuse me, Mister Party-P—“

 

“Hey” And all of a sudden, the powerful voice of the gym’s manager rumbled. “You two. Quiet” Valbar very matter-of-factly requested.  
  
“Sorry” Both dejectedly apologized in unison.  
  
After mentally thanking Coach Wisteria for silencing the back and forth between Anthiese’s valets, Alm closed his eyes for a second while inhaling and re-opened as he exhaled, only to find himself face to face with Captain Mathilda. Her speed threw him off-guard, but once she sent her right fist flying at him, he used his own right hand to parry, take a quick step to his left and, before anything else could happen, sent a palm strike aimed at her shoulder.  
  
While this strategy allowed him to land a good hit on her, he quickly realized it wasn’t enough when he saw Captain Mathilda almost immediately leap towards him before following with a crouch, allowing her to evade his left straight which then gave way to an explosive shoulder tackle. Alm received the brunt of the attack on his left pectoral.  
  
“Hnngrrgh!” Wincing from the pain, he dropped his guard down from the pain and left his chin open, something for which Mathilda immediately capitalized on by sending a right hook at it. Even when he futilely tried to guard it, the might of her punch was such that it sent the student council president flying. He was able to react quickly enough to use his right arm to cushion his fall somewhat.  
  
The audience had a mixed response to this.  
  
One of Clair’s teammates from the track team was filming the whole thing on her phone, two of them were talking about several things unrelated at the fight, while Clair herself cringed at the scene just now; right next to them, both Mae and Boey were left with their jaws on the floor, with Genny too busy writing at top speed to notice either them or Anthiese covering her mouth from the startling violence at full demonstration; the last group, right next to Anthiese, had Principal Lukas also covering his mouth, but he seemed much more thoughtful at the scene playing in front of him, while Clive sat confidently, with both his legs and arms crossed while bearing a shit-eating grin, proud of being able to see his bride’s incredible fighting prowess first-hand once again. And finally, Coach Forsyth Cason laid vigilant of… something, while a certain chemistry professor ate some snacks nonchalantly.  
  
“Alright, stop” Shortly after Alm hit the ground, Valbar went over to kneel at his side. “Are you sure you wish to continue, Flowers? There’s no shame in forfeiting the match, y’know?”  
  
His chest felt as though it was on fire from the pain, but Alm managed to summon enough strength to at least sit himself straight. “Sure, I can continue…” the pain currently piercing him only allowed for one measly sentence to come out. “… just please, give me a minute”  
  
“Alright, then” Coach Wisteria stood up. “Round 1 goes to Mathilda Glass in the blue corner!”  
  
Last he saw before let his back hit the ground again to catch his breath was the imposing figure of his opponent stretching for Round 2.  
  
“President!” Her concern evident even at a reasonable volume, Anthiese quickly decided that it was enough to sit idly there and ran towards her class-mate and fellow student council member before kneeling right next to him.  
  
“Oh, hey there, Ms. Lindenbaum” He hissed after grabbing his left shoulder. “Please pardon my less-than-stellar performance so far” His smile did little to diminish the concern she displayed.  
  
“Just what are you exactly trying to prove with that?”  
  
“I—I’m not completely certain I’m following you here”  
  
“Well, you’re getting defeated, that much is evident” She took in a quick breath. “But why are you fighting so half-heartedly like that?”  
  
“I’m sorry?”  
  
“I’ve seen you fight before, President. You usually—“

  
“Hey Flowers. What. The fuck. Was that?”

Almost as if on cue, Alm’s breath stabilized and his eyes went expressionless when he heard that cutting remark interrupt Anthiese’s and saw a certain man squat to her left.  
  
“Hello, Professor Erholtz. It’s also very nice to see you” He sighed between both sentences. Anthiese was still startled from Professor Patrick Erholtz interrupting her.  
  
“Oh please, drop the foofy pleasantries. With the audience you brought and everything, I thought you were finally ready to bring the goods home, get that nice upset for yourself and kick the captain’s ass. But nooooope! Same ass-kicking is ensuing: Your ass, to be specific” Patrick had a peculiar nickname that originated from one of his most fruitful friendships, and aside from a select few people, eye-rolling teenager currently on the ground included among those, most people actually addressed him by said moniker.

“Listen. Old Python has money riding on this. Don’t fuck this up now” Including himself.  
  
“I’ll do what I can” Alm used his left hand to cover his eyes for a moment and pretend he didn’t hear his chemistry teacher say what he just did.  
  
“Hey! That’s the spirit” Professor Erholtz punched him in the shoulder. “Give ‘em hell, Evergreen!” He added as he stood up and waved at Alm.  
  
“What is our chemistry professor doing here?” As Alm’s classmate, Anthiese was familiar with a certain number of shenanigans related to their teacher.  
  
Alm sighed. He often wondered that, himself. “Well, no matter how hard Coach Cason tries to keep him from entering, he always butts in on our matches, so that’s why he’s here along with yours and the Jorgensen’s entourages”  
  
She tilted her head when seeing Coach Forsyth Cason argue with Professor Erholtz, but then remembered what she wanted to say and slapped both her cheeks, as if to force herself to focus. “Ah, now I remember! President, I believe you’re being too conservative right now. Why is that?”

“Well, that’s why Coach Valbar is here, to sanction this match so no illegal or unsportsmanlike moves are made” For a second, the student council president felt like he was being dim.  
  
“No, I get that, but you normally don’t hesitate to go in for a quick victory. How is this different?”  
  
“I… uh…” He wanted to make an argument, but suddenly, Alm realized that there was no real excuse for his performance and that the Vice-President was absolutely on the money here.  
  
“Hmmm” He grabbed his chin while turning to look at his opponent.  
  
“Now, I know that Captain Glass has a very powerful fighting style, but to see you hesitate this much seems highly uncharacteristic of you, President. Especially given how relatively straightforward her movements are”  
  
At those words, Alm had a momentous breakthrough which he expressed by sitting straight and slapping his forehead. Shortly after, he glanced at his fellow student council member and smiled.  
  
“Thank you, Ms. Lindenbaum!” He said as he hugged her out of the blue.  
  
For her part, the youngest daughter of the Lindenbaum family had to try and keep her poise, especially given that they weren’t alone.  
  
“P-president?!” She wasn’t being very successful, especially at that volume. “Please, not here! A-and not like this!” She lowered her volume this time while trying really hard not to surrender to her subconscious’ desire to embrace the president back.  
  
“Ah! Sorry! That was perhaps a bit too much. My bad!” He broke off the hug a few seconds later.  “But seriously, thank you for kicking me back into the right lane” Alm deemed that patting Anthiese on the shoulder before finally getting on his feet once again would be more appropriate.  
  
He probably failed to notice the powerful shades of red currently haunting Anthiese’s face as he stood up. Or her incredibly cute pout that followed soon.  
  
“It seems as though all you needed was a pep-talk or sorts. Not bad” Captain Mathilda noted the marked change of attitude Alm displayed with his body language after standing up. “So, are you ready to resume this match?”  
  
“I am”  
  
“Glad to hear as much” She then glanced at Valbar. “Coach, if you would do us the honor”  
  
“Very well” The Big Cheese raised his hand. “Round 2. And… Go!”

 

Mathilda wasted no time in going into the offensive right out of the gate and once again leaped towards her opponent at a frightening speed before dishing out a quick straight with her left…  
  
… which Alm immediately capitalized on by grabbing her wrist, using his right foot to trip her up and shoved her into the floor. It was less than 2 seconds before she found herself face down, with Alm’s knee resting on her back.  
  
“What?” Her wide-eyed surprise left no doubts that she did not precisely see this result coming.

 

“Round 2 goes to Alm Flowers in the red corner!” Valbar conceded.  
  
“WHAT?!” The Captain was clearly astonished at her sudden loss in this round. When she turned around to look at the small audience, she saw how her husband-to-be clearly looked as confused as she felt right now.  
  
They were not the only ones in utter bemusement. “Is it just me or did president Flowers take tall and beautiful off guard with that one?” Mae felt a slight disappointment at how fast that round went by.  
  
“Captain Glass has a name! But yeah, it looks like it was way more than what she bargained for. Like, I know what we just saw happened because, well, we’re here after all, but I totally get her shock”  
  
The biggest contrast, however, was Anthiese, who had an incredibly satisfied smug expression.  
  
After Alm took his knee off her back and got back on his feet, Mathilda contemplated what had just transpired. Looking at her left hand, she now recalls how she’d been bested just now and allowed herself a small smile before standing up and dusting herself off.  
  
She knows it was a careless mistake to become so arrogant.  
  
“Ready?” The question now came from the emerald-haired boy.  
  
“Yes I am!” And just like his reply earlier, she showed no hesitation in answering.  
  
Both assumed their respective fighting stances. At that sight, Valbar knew that asking anything else would be pointless and simply opted to resume his duties as referee once again.  
  
“Final Round! And… GO!”  
  
This time it was Alm who leaped towards the Captain with the intent of getting a first strike in by employing a left-elbow to the mid-section, which was skillfully blocked by Mathilda using her knee while throwing a hook of her own at his face.  
  
The punch managed to graze Alm in the chin with enough strength to momentarily throw him off-balance. Said moment quickly passed, though, as he saw Captain Mathilda raise her right leg and knew what was coming. It was the move that had earned the Captain her most infamous moniker.  
  
The Godslayer.  
  
At immediate sight of the descending trajectory from her axe kick, Alm allowed himself to flash a weary smirk. It was at the moment when her heel connected with his trapezoid that Alm felt like his left arm would fall off its socket. For now, he had to bear it, so he pushed through the absolutely crushing pain and brought his left arm up to grab Captain Mathilda’s thigh, while his right arm grabbed her by the collar.  
  
Mathilda allowed her absolute surprise to be almost palpable for all to see.  
  
“NWOOOAAAGGGHIIIIIYYYAAAAAH!” Said surprise was absolute dwarfed before Flowers’ fiery battle cry. Using his right leg to swipe Mathilda completely off her feet, his wraparound takedown took shape.  
  
As Alm and Mathilda momentarily took off the ground, among the audience, three people had almost the exact same reaction.

“Oh—” Boey…  
  
“—my—” …Python…  
  
“—goddess!” …and finally, Mae, as Alm finished his takedown successfully.

In truth, “takedown” was probably the wrong word to use here, since it wasn’t so much that Alm took her down as much as he basically dunked her into the floor. And while it was certainly a difficult technique that had been executed, the way it looked resembled less a technical feat of incredible martial arts skill and more a completely feral display of brute force. It was to the point that Clive rose from his seat and ran towards his beloved to make sure she was OK.  
  
He surveyed the situation and saw that she was more or less fine, save for the complete flabbergast currently decorating her face. Almost as if by unison, both directed their eyes at her opponent, who was currently squatting nearby, looking down and gasping for air.  
  
Still with the same ragged breathing pattern, he first looked up to exchange stares with Headmaster Clive, and then directed his eyes towards his downed rival.  
  
Alm then rose up, massaging his left shoulder with his right hand, as his gasps gave way to less erratic breathing patterns.  
  
At that, Valbar approached him and raised his right arm. “And the winner of this fight is… Alm Flowers!”  
  
A small cheer followed that announcement, with whistles, a small retinue of clapping and…  
  
“WOOOOOOO!” … Mae getting pumped up to eleven.  
  
  
“Hmhmhmhmhmhmhm…” At that, Mathilda left out a continuous chuckle… “YESSS!” before allowing the dam to break and letting out a three-letter word exclamation that surfaced from the very depths of her soul. Such a display was enough to catch off-guard most of the small audience this match had. “WELL DONE, MISTER FLOWERS! I knew it was a smart choice to pick you as a sparring partner!” She quickly rose back to her feet with a little help from her fiancé.  
  
While some of her peers and most of the audience might find her sometimes intense nature a bit off-putting, the student council president for Zofia Academy thought it was incredibly charming to find such a spirited person when it came to one of the things they enjoyed.  
  
“I’m glad I was able to provide you with some sort of merriment on this Sunday, Captain” Alm resumed massaging his shoulder while talking to the Captain.  
  
“Indeed! And in truth, you have given me much to think about with regards to my technique”  
  
“Oh, so that Hoshidan warrior you quoted the other day was probably onto something then, wasn’t he?”  
  
Her laugh right after hearing that was much more light-hearted. “Oh, most definitely! True words of wisdom, if I’ve ever read them” She then offered a clenched fist. “Let’s meet up after the Inter-High is done, shall we?”  
  
“Sounds like a plan!” Alm replied while bumping fists with Captain Mathilda Glass.  
\--  
  
After thanking everyone for assisting and, afterwards, helping Coach Valbar and Captain Mathilda with the cleanup, Alm grabbed his bag and contemplated if to go and hit the showers here or head to the dormitory and do it there. He kept on fiddling with the gym’s keys that Coach had trusted him with.  
  
“Hi”  
  
“G’ah!” That greeting took him off-guard, so the keys flew off his index before he could catch them. “Oh, Ms. Lindenbaum. I thought you had already headed home for the day”  
  
“I wanted to talk with you after yesterday’s outing”  
  
“Oh, you mean the one where we had like 4 chaperones to make sure I avoided doing anything untoward with you, while your bodyguard kept on both elbowing me in the ribs every time we looked at each other and stealing my popcorn, despite my offer to buy him a bag of his own?”  
  
She couldn’t help but to giggle while Alm gave an abridged recount of their less-than-stellar attempt at a date. “The one and the same”  
  
“Eh, it wasn’t so bad” He shrugged before scratching the back of his ear. “So, what about it? While I wouldn’t be against another outing like that, it’d be good if we could maybe organize it a bit better next time”  
  
“No, that’s fine. Given how little we actually spoke, I wanted to take advantage of today. In truth, I want to talk to you about something else entirely”

That gave him a little pause.  
  
“Oh? Well, don’t hold back. After today, I most definitely owe you more than one” Alm’s smile was beginning to become a thing she both couldn’t get enough of and also feared a little.  
  
Especially given how infectious it was.  
  
“Well, first off: The way you address me. I’m… not certain how much you know of my situation, especially concerning my family, but…”  
  
Alm noticed that she seemed really uncomfortable when talking about this particular topic, given how she cast her look down. He had some experience with situations like this, but he was unsure if Anthiese’s was anything like what he had helped his friends with in the past. Feeling that hesitation won’t accomplish anything, Alm reached for her trembling hands and took them into his own.  
  
This elicited a look of surprise from the red-haired girl standing in front of him. Fortunately, said surprise gave way to a cheerful smile.  “First off, I would like for you to call me by my name..."  
  
"... So, from now on, please, call me Anthiese whenever possible”  
  
Now it was his turn at being the surprised party. He recalled when he tried addressing her as Anthiese on the day he scouted her to be the Vice-President for the student council. He recalled how she seemed somewhere between annoyed, offended and irked, so that’s why he’s been defaulting to addressing her on a last name’s basis.  
  
Still: This was a request he couldn’t dismiss. “Very well. Miss Anthiese—” When he realized what he had just done, he hid his face with his hands in embarrassment. “D’oh! Sorry. Sorry!”  
  
She giggled uncontrollably for a few seconds at hearing her name being spoken by him. “It’s okay! No worries! Give it time. I don’t mind the title” She said while prying his hands away from his face.  
  
Alm let out a sigh of relief, followed by a tender smile.  
  
“And now, for my second request, if you don’t mind”  
  
“By all means” He replied without an ounce of delay.  
  
“Would you consider training me?”  
  
For a moment, he thought his ears deceived him just now. “Wait, come again?

  
“AND ME TOO!” Suddenly another voice, along with its owner, made itself known.  
  
“What?”  
  
“Yes!” Appearing in front of them is a girl wearing Zofia Academy’s middle school uniform that appeared behind the bleachers’ corner. She then proceeded to run towards them.  
  
“W-wait! What are you doing?” Anthiese was confused and slightly wary, now that the little girl had decided to perch herself on to her arm while pointing at Alm.  
  
“Alm James Flowers, Student Council President for our High School Division, you will have the honor—nay, the privilege! Of teaching me, Delthea Van Nordean, how to fight like you did against that tough, scary lady! That way I can truly SOAR ON TO NEW HEIGHTS!”  
  
His third week as both a freshman student and student council president of this academic institution was coming to a close, but Alm Flowers felt that, perhaps, things were calming down after the whirlwind that the last decade of his life had proven to be. In retrospect, he should’ve known better, but as he took a deep breath while pinching his nose, Alm tipped his head, looked up for a moment and embraced the road ahead.  
  
He first placed his left hand on Anthiese’s shoulder… “It’ll be my honor” and then patted the head of the young girl calling herself Delthea with his right. “I’ll... probably have to talk to your parents first”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This had to be re-written like 4 times, until something halfway coherent came out, but I honestly liked the final result, so I think that all the growing pains getting this one here were worth it. Especially with the final round of the fight. But I'll let you be the judge to that, so feel free to let me know what you think. Cheers!


End file.
